"Infor last week made two notable product-related announcements that feature the cloud front and center. This includes a new e-commerce storefront called Rhythm that will live in the cloud, and a new ERP upgrade program called UpgradeX that—you guessed it—will enable existing Infor customers to simultaneously upgrade their ERP software and run it in the cloud.

"… Under UpgradeX, Infor promises to manage the entire application upgrade and migration process for its customers. … Customers stand to benefit in a couple of ways. First and foremost, they'll get access to the latest 10x release of their ERP software. The 10x products, if you remember, are those that hook into Infor's ION middleware, which gives customers access to a variety of social, mobile, cloud, and analytical add-on applications to surround their core ERP.

"Meanwhile, Infor's new Rhythm offering promises to provide its customers with a modern-looking e-commerce storefront that Infor runs for you in the cloud. … The offering is like an all-inclusive vacation: it includes just about everything needed to get an e-commerce website up and running. This includes the software, layout and design from Infor's Hook & Loop agency, hosting in an Infor (or, more likely, a partner) data center, and technical support. … Existing customers include Tommy Bahama, Microsoft, Mohegan Sun, and Navy Federal Credit Union."